I Don't Take Requests: WINNER OF THE ATTITUDE AWARD 'If you want to change your life...read this book.' TRACEY EMIN

Product Information

That changed really quickly, the wind changed when it became both more monetised and more criminalised. Publisher Hannah Black, who acquired the book in 2021, described DJ Fat Tony as “an absolute force of nature”. Mixmag will use the information you provide to send you the Mixmag newsletter using Mailchimp as our marketing platform.

To this day, Siouxsie Sioux is the only person to have ever had the balls to slap me right across the face. In the end mimicking Tony’s voice became second nature – a voice which, unfortunately, I might never be able to get out of my head – and writing as Tony became almost easier than writing as myself.

DJ Fat Tony has been described as 'the closest thing that club culture has to a national treasure' and the 'unlikely cult hero of quarantine'. He’ll have everyone dancing, guarantee great memories, and the stories he tells… Just don’t f*****g ask for any requests! I learned acceptance, but I also learned how to love myself, learn from myself and learn how to learn from others. It seemed to come straight from the heart and he had me laughing out loud, then in complete shock and then being in tears. We all flew to Palm Beach and I DJ'd for three days, I did the welcoming party, the actual wedding reception and the brunch on Sunday.

This is the first year that an Attitude Award has gone to a book that has made a significant difference to the LGBTQ+ community. Back then he was playing at the Playground but soon started his own night, Total Fashion Victim, then Jungle in 1985, which became the first place to play garage and house. Tony Marnoch, aka Fat Tony, grew up on an estate in Battersea where he made friends with Boy George, and DJed to the stars before spiralling into serious drug addiction. We all knew we were breaking the law, and we all knew what we were doing, and we knew that we could get away with it because there was such a big mass of people. Anyone can get a party started, but no one keeps it going like Fat Tony, the energy never dips and what a life he's lived.

Eventually, I amalgamated them all, regurgitating his voice and adding a few Tony-esque life quotes for good measure. A man who has stood the test of time, come back from the brink more than once, and understandably developed something of a gnarly temper along the way.

What was lovely was Tony's reconnection with his dad, largely down to a criminal charge and court appearance. I began to learn the nuances of his character (which believe me, there are a few), and we developed a deep connection and what I hope will be a lifelong friendship. From childhood abuse to taking to the tiles with Boy George, Leigh Bowery and Sue Tilley, creating a drag persona, DJ'ing the biggest fashion parties and spiralling into drug addiction, nothing is off limits when it comes to Tony. As you'd expect, there are plenty of riotous anecdotes along the way but the most important takeaway from Tony's story is that of a character who refuses to let life beat him, even when the odds are more than stacked against him. And I fell asleep in that villa for around nine hours and I woke up to pitch black and absolutely nothing and no one, they had taken everything!

When I'm playing music, I'm reading the energy of the crowd, I'm not playing for one person, I'm playing for everyone'. Up until that point, I was just listening to music, but when acid house came along I was actually feeling the music.